


Thieving Crews

by paupotter_4869



Category: Mistborn - Brandon Sanderson
Genre: Introspection, Late Conversations, Late at Night, crews, in one word, just one big crazy happy family, the whole crew - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-01
Updated: 2019-04-01
Packaged: 2019-11-27 20:01:28
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,245
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18198683
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/paupotter_4869/pseuds/paupotter_4869
Summary: The night of one of many ball gowns, the crew meets at Clubs's shop. Kelsier reflects on the crew and, perhaps more specifically, on Vin's growth. Hope you like it !





	Thieving Crews

**Author's Note:**

> All credit to Brandon Sanderson. Hope you like it !

He lands neatly on the rooftop in a crouching position, not too hard, not too fast, and without barely breaking a sweat, or wounding his knees or hands upon the landing--just as if he'd stepped out of a carriage and into the street, really. Jumping from and off rooftops is nearly as fun and easy as horseback riding. To a Mistborn, it’s just like a farmer skaa must know the different vegetables and how to grow them. 

By the time he stands, Spook’s already in front of him, ready to give the distress signal if he were an unknown individual. 

But Kelsier just gives his signature smile, wiping the dust off his mistcloak. 

“Relax, lad,” he says with a warm voice. “It’s just me.”

“Oh. Hello,” says Spook, still a bit uneasy, scanning the mists. Although, if it were any menace pending on the shop right now, Kelsier would probably spot it before he ever did. 

“How’s the watch going tonight?” he asks. 

“Restless,” Spook says, pointing to the streets. Kelsier follows his gaze--beyond the mists, beyond the slums, down there, towards the Great Houses raising in the middle of the city. Like a warning. A declaration of their power. An invitation. 

Kelsier smiles crookedly. Yes, the Great Houses are growing anxious and restless with every passing night. His attacks tonight will only increase the atmosphere of nervousness and suspicions. All in all, their plan’s unfolding marvelously.

“That, they are,” he nods in the end, pride in his voice. 

He frowns when he sees Spook trying to hide a shiver and realizes that for Tineyes to keep watch of this lair, they must also suffer the low temperatures at night. At least in the Central Dominance it doesn’t snow often. 

“Aren’t you cold, lad?” 

Spook shrugs it off--embarrassed and probably ashamed for Kelsier to point him out.

“Night wasin warm.” 

“Well, regardless, change guards and come downstairs for an ale,” says Kelsier. 

“In a minute.”

Kelsier stands there for a second more, pondering if he could convince the kid to tag along with him, back to the shop. In the end, he just drops the subject without further fighting--although he does not want any Tineyes freezing to death, he’s not going to force anyone into anything. That was the first rule he tried to teach Vin. Everyone’s here in their own free will. 

“I’ll see you downstairs,” he bids farewell. By the corner of his eye, he catches Spook nodding and sees him returning to his spot to one side of the rooftop. 

As Kelsier climbs down the stairs, he reaches a mindless hand into his robes and this particular coin he keeps deep inside one of his pockets--an unconscious gesture whenever he mentions or thinks of Vin. She’s really coming along, that girl. These few months, she’s changed so much. He might even confess that he’s proud of the evolution and growth he’s witnessed from the scrawly, scared little thing he met by happenstance. 

He toys with the coin in his fingers until he reaches the kitchen, where he meets Ham, Dockson, Clubs and Breeze, a surprising gathering keeping in mind the late hour and that there was no meeting scheduled. It’s almost a full night--it’s been weeks since they last heard from Marsh. 

“You’re up late,” he points out, going straight to fix himself a drink.

“Is it?” asks Dock, raising his head from his notepad, taking the watch from a pocket. He frowns upon the truly late hour--late enough for Kelsier to be back from his night-time shenanigans. But then again, with enough drinks this crew can kill hours on end. 

“Vin?” is his first very question. He’d be surprised if she'd gone straight to bed after the ball without waiting for him to deliver her tidbits. 

“They’re not back yet,” Dockson says. 

As he takes a chair closer to the table and sits on it the wrong way, Kelsier raises an eyebrow. Vin must have taken a liking to these balls and those rumors she used to hate after all. He hopes she’s not enjoying them too much--if they succeed, soon enough there won’t be any balls to attend to. 

Leaving that aside, Kells asks Ham about the bandage on his hand that he did not have this morning before leaving to train the recruits. The conversation lingers easily, Spook entering the kitchen sometime later, with more than enough drinks going around. 

Finally Kelsier’s enhanced ears hear, before anyone else in the shop, the carriage approaching and stopping in front of the shop. He checks the hour again and is greatly surprised. It is late, incredibly late for Vin’s standards just a few weeks back. The Vin he met would have returned ages ago. Although the old Vin never would have been able to attend and put up with such a ball gown. 

The coin once more between his fingers, a couple minutes later Vin finally makes an entrance to the kitchen, Sazed holding the door open for her, that ball dress too delicate and bright and pristine for her surroundings. 

All the men in the kitchen stand upon her arrival, making Vin freeze in shock--and her usual suspicion kicks in as she glares at each one in turn. 

“What’s going on?” she demands, her voice sharp, glaring lastly at Kelsier. Pay the Forgotten Gods that she behaves better at those ball gowns. 

“Nothing really,” says Ham. “This _is_ how you greet a noblewoman, isn't it?” 

Vin rolls her eyes and then turns towards Breeze. 

“Did you put them up to this?” she scowls. 

The man, dropping to his chair, raises his hands as if to defend himself from the accusation. “You wound me, girl. I’d never do such a thing.”

“Oh, come on, knock it off, will you? Just sit down, all of you,” Vin commands, stepping into the kitchen. 

Sazed brings her a chair before she needs to ask or look for one and finally everyone takes a seat too, bursting out laughing, except for Sazed, that is, who stands, back straight, behind Vin’s seat. Kelsier looks around--it wasn’t a planned out prank, but it was beautifully executed thanks to a little encouragement by Breeze. Except maybe for Spook, he did jump out of his chair before Kelsier ever felt Breeze’s Soothing, and is still standing. He only follows everyone’s suit when Vin does sit down. 

Kelsier, instead, pours a glass of water and lands it in front of Vin. 

“Would you like something stronger for a change?” he asks with a wicked, crooked smile. 

“This is fine,” she says, taking a polite sip, as if she were still in that ball. “Thanks.” 

Nodding in acknowledgement, he goes around the table to sit back on his chair. He couldn’t help but notice the slight smile on Vin’s lips. Had they done something similar only a few weeks ago, they’d have risked upsetting her and her hiding in her room for their childish and uncalled behavior. Today, she understands it was just a prank made out of trust and playfulness. 

“Is it really wrong, though?” says Ham. 

“What’d you mean?” asks Vin--the poor girl still hasn't learnt better on that regard. 

“Standing to you.” 

“Yes, of course it is,” scowls Vin, outraged. 

“It’s proper to stand to a noblewoman.” 

“ _I’m nothing but!_ ”

“You are an acting noblewoman and are treated as such in those balls.” 

“But _you_ know better. You are forbidden from ever doing that again, unless it’s just for a stupid prank of yours,” she settles, taking another sip of water. Even Sazed, behind Vin, has a smile on his lips, though. And Ham refuses to forget the discussion. 

“Those people don’t know any better--”

“Thank the Forgotten Gods for that one, or we'd all be in serious danger,” interjects Clubs. 

“And so, they act accordingly around and towards you,” Ham says. “Is it that wrong for us to do the same even when we know the truth?” 

“What I _can_ tell you, my dear friend, is that it is too late to have these kinds of conversations. Spook, please refill his glass, lad,” scowls Breeze, as he helps himself to another drink too. “Vin, my girl, now that he’s finally shut up, seize the chance to start explaining your evening.”

“Spare no detail,” adds Dockson, notepad ready on the table, by his elbow. 

Vin takes another sip of water and takes a couple seconds to unscramble the ideas in her head, before she starts talking, checking with Sazed now and then for names and hierarchies. None of the tidbits she gives them are really news to the crew, which doesn’t really infuriate her so much now--she doesn’t regard those balls as useless anymore. 

Instead, Kelsier notices other things, playing absentmindedly with that ever-present coin under the table. Vin’s voice stays stable and strong throughout her speech, her back straight without leaning on the chair even though she's long left the ball. She took her shoes off as soon as she sat down, but that’s about it. She’s not shy and scared of the crew members anymore, hiding in the shadows, speaking in whispered monosyllables. Even if it feels wrong to her, she has found a place in this crew. She feels valuable and useful, even maybe cared for and loved--and that is a whole lot more than she bargained for when she first knew of her Allomancy and their crazy plan to overthrow the Final Empire. 

Kelsier finds himself unable to hide the smile on his lips as he stares at Vin at the other side of the table, without really listening to her. He can tell, however, only judging by her body language and the way she talks, that Elend Venture was not an attendee on this latest ball, which is favorable to the crew--and hence Vin. The girl’s just blind to some political maneuvers such as young Elend’s games. If she were to pursue the Venture heir, Kelsier knows she’ll end up devastated when she learns the true meanings after Venture’s apparent interest in her. They need to keep them apart, both for the sake of the mission and for the sake of the poor girl’s heart. He must remember to make her understand. 

There’s so much that he could teach her yet--and not only on the Allomancy field. This life, even though sometimes feels like a bottomless dark pitch, isn’t as dark an existence as Vin has always thought. He’s barely started opening her eyes to the truth, to the hidden beauty in common things, to know what it is to truly trust people. He could teach her so much more yet, if they had the time. 

_How devastatingly broken will she be when you have to leave her, Kelsier?_

Hiding a scowl in a coughing fit, Kelsier looks down, his fist closing around the coin, barely grabbing it before it plummets to the ground. With all he knows about Allomancy, he’s barely able to keep a straight and neutral face. He cannot let his emotions get the better of him like this. 

But it’s simpler than that--it’s a much more basic thing than controlling his emotions about Vin around his crew. He just can’t do it to her--she’s lost so much, she might not be able to afford losing him too. He’s now coming to understand. . . He’s going to have to find another way, even if just for the sake of this child who’s only recently found another path to life than just being a street urchin. 

In the end Vin’s tale comes to an end. Kelsier’s barely listened to a word she’s said in the past ten minutes, but Dockon’s few notes on it will spare him from looking and sounding terribly rude and disinterested. Yawning, Vin finishes her drink and excuses herself. 

She doesn’t seem so surprised this time around when Kelsier stands too. She bows her head slightly, without really bowing like kandra Renoux would force her to do had they been back at Fenise, but it’s still a close enough gesture. Nobility standards are really rubbing off on her. If that’s a good or a bad sign, Kelsier’s in two minds about it. 

“Oh, one more thing,” she remembers something right before leaving the kitchen. “If you need me to go to another ball next week, we’re going to have to talk about dresses.” 

Although she’s addressed the whole crew, she spoke looking straight up at Dockson, who nods, scratching the back of his neck with the pencil. 

“Mistress Vin is right, I’m afraid,” Sazed adds to the turmoil. “She’s already worn twice the dresses you got her with the last shipment, with different jewlery and patches to mask each of them. But we need to see that Mistress Vin gets some new dresses.” 

Kelsier looks down on Dockon’s reaction, which isn’t as bad as everyone feared it would be. He knew this was coming. They all did. Even with being cautious, the budget spent on Vin’s dresses is kind of getting out of hand. But, contrary as it may sound, it’s one imperative expense they must take care of. 

“Yeah, I was counting on it,” sighs Dockson. “Tomorrow we’ll have the honorable visit of a few dressmakers. Maybe she should have gone to Fenise.” 

“No, we’re going to stay here. It’s safer here in Luthadel,” Kelsier says, knowing the suggestion was only a question in disguise. “We’ll be alright, I’m sure Vin can make some excuse up.” 

She nods to prove Kelsier’s point. She hasn’t made any complaints or even a face concerning the ghastly prospect of tomorrow’s visit--in fact, more than being ready for it, she looks as if she’d been expecting something along those lines. She truly has grown before their eyes. 

Vin’s standing does seem to put an end to the evening meeting and Clubs points at Spook to collect all the glasses from the tables. Everyone starts filing out of the kitchen, but Vin lingers and Kelsier, for some reason, does too, suspecting she was waiting for a chance to catch him alone. In the end, she locks eyes with Kelsier, her lower lip trembling with a burning question she might not dare to ask. Kelsier thinks he can tell what it is, but he’s going to force her to say the words out loud.

“Are you going out again tonight?” 

He flashes one of his best smiles to reassure her. If he was, he probably would take Vin with him--it’s just so much funnier having her with him, testing her abilities and prowess, knowing what she can become still. He will be around long enough to teach her a few more tricks, and that’s a promise. 

“Let’s just call it a day. I’m beat too.” 

Knowing she’s not missing out on any further adventures does perk her up beyond her obvious tiredness. He can tell she’s been using pewter for a while now to stay awake--it just comes as easy as breathing to her now. She is, without a doubt, full of surprises. 

As Kelsier stands, taking the chair back to the corner, he also puts away deep inside his pocket the half-bent coin he and Vin once fought against. He simply carries it with him all the time, now. A reminder of what he himself was when he Snapped, back at the Pits of Hathsin. A reminder of what Vin was when they met, of what she’s become and what she can still become in the future. 

He’s always been a dreamer--mad as a hatter would be a more appropriate expression, if one were to ask the crew. Back with Mare he shared her dreams. Allomancy expanded his whole world, giving him so more opportunities in life: to spark a skaa rebellion, to get revenge for Mare’s death, to get the world rid of the Lord Ruler and his executioners and his despairingly unfair social system. But it’s now, with Vin, when his mind and imagination have grown beyond belief. 

Looking back at the door where Vin’s left through, he can’t help but wonder again. 

_Was happiness ever a choice for us?_ he wonders. _If we hadn’t been betrayed, if Mare was still alive. . ._ If they had pulled out and quit before, accepting their future of settling down somewhere the Lord Ruler or his spooky Inquisitors would never find them. . . If such a life had been possible, if they’d somehow found happiness in such a dreadful and horrible world, would they have had a daughter? Would she be like the girl that was just seated in front of him, a girl he’s in awe with, that he admires and loves? A girl he wishes he could teach all there is to know, a girl he wished he could see grow old and become the amazing woman he knows she’s got the potential to become?

He sighs, giving up on the mental debate for now. He’s worse than Ham, sometimes: he knows his questions will never be answered and there’s no point in wondering either, but still he can’t stop his mind from wandering. A curse and a blessing. 

He finally opens the kitchen door to head for his dormitory, however elusive sleep might prove tonight--and any other night, for that matter. But there in the semidarkness he finds Sazed, his formal position, back straight, hands together behind his back. 

“Thought you’d gone to sleep too,” Kelsier says, tired voice. 

“I felt like you could do with some company for a while, Master Kelsier.” 

Kelsier smiles, a sad smile people barely ever see coming from him. A broad, however fake a smile it might be, is a good contender against the darkest of nights. He simply steps aside for Sazed to enter the kitchen, pointing at the Terrisman to grab a chair to actually sit on, and he takes a seat on the opposite side of the table. 

“You shouldn’t trouble yourself with my problems, certainly,” he sighs. 

“Isn’t that what friends do? Worry and if possible, help each other?” 

“Is that what we are? Friends?” asks Kelsier.

“All due respects, I do know what a rhetorical question sounds like, Master Kelsier.” 

“If we’re so close friends, you’re having a drink with me tonight," settles Kelsier, standing and pouring two drinks before Sazed can complain. The Terrisman does stand out of respect until Kelsier returns and resumes his seat. “Maybe you should give Vin a lesson or two on friendship, then.” 

“I don’t think she’d be up to those kind of lectures, being honest,” laughs Sazed. The glass on his hand, he looks nowhere near ready to take a sip--and Kelsier won’t pour it down his throat either. At least he’s sitting. “And even though she’s still got some things to learn on that regard, she’s come so far.” 

_That, she has,_ without a shred of doubt. Kelsier nods, looking at the bottom of his half-empty drink. He stops his hand before it wanders down to his pocket and grabs that forsaken coin--Sazed’s already caught him a few times with that and although his manners have forbidden him from remarking on it or asking any questions, at least for now, Kells doesn’t want to bring the subject up. 

“Maybe you could give me a lesson or two instead,” he says nonetheless. “What religions do you have for me tonight?”

**Author's Note:**

> Please let me know what you think ! :3


End file.
